Labour Calls For Ban On Early Foetus Sex Test

Any woman who’s had a baby will tell you that there are a lot of tests and scans that are done throughout the entire pregnancy. These scans and tests are conducted to ensure the safety of the mother and the fetus, and also to check if both are reaching the necessary pregnancy milestones in a healthy manner. However, one such safety measure that is often being misused is the ultrasonography/prenatal tests. While it is primarily to check the baby’s growth inside the womb, many people often use it to discover the gender of the baby. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. However, in some countries, where a certain section of the society favors a baby boy, such gender determination comes with the risk of pregnancy elimination if it happens to be a girl. This is why gender reveal is banned and considered a punishable crime in countries like India and China.

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Recently, the Labour Party in England made a similar demand. They called for a ban on revealing the gender of the baby through the Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT). The NIPT is used by the NHS to test the genetic conditions of the baby. However, people can make a private payment to get to know the gender of the baby. The Labour Party’s Naz Shah, a Member of the Parliament, says that it is morally wrong for people to discover the gender of the baby and then abort the child. As Ms. Shah points out, in certain communities like the South Asian community, there is a preference for the male child. She goes on to explain further that expecting mothers are often subjected to great strain to deliver a baby boy in such communities. This forces them to misuse methods like the NIPT to live up to the family’s expectations.

The NIPT requires a blood sample from the pregnant woman to check for the baby’s DNA that circulates in her blood. This DNA helps them gauge the possible risk of genetic conditions such as Down’s syndrome. However, it can also help to determine the gender of the baby. Generally, private clinics share this information with the parents while some even take a drop of blood and send back the reports to the parents via post. However, in the wake of this demand, the NHS will stop sharing the gender information with the soon-to-be parents when the next set of tests are rolled out.

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The Victoria Derbyshire program led an investigation where it found thousands of British women discussing on an online forum about using the NIPT to disclose the gender of the baby. This program also zeroed in on an area, Slough, where there were women’s clinics that blatantly advertised gender determination through NIPT, on the roadsides. Ms. Tan Dhesi, the Labour MP for Slough, has asked for such advertisements to be stamped out. While choosing an abortion due to gender is illegal in the UK, many women doing so do not cite that as a primary reason, making it difficult to curtail the practice. However, in 2015, the government did acknowledge that it wasn’t aware exactly how widespread gender testing had become. It said that given the growing popularity of NIPT in recent times, it’ll now look into its impact on the gender ratios of the ethnic minority communities.

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Like Ms. Shah reiterated, NIPT screenings are done for a noble purpose – to screen for serious genetic disorders and conditions like the Down’s Syndrome. She urges the government to look into this exploitative practice and impose appropriate restrictions on them. The Nuffield Council, that advises on matters related to ethical issues, also held a consultation on the role of NIPT testing and it’s misuse. The Council strongly believed that the ability to determine gender puts the pressure back on women to have baby boys.

With more and more cases of NIPT misuse coming forward and pressure building up from the masses, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesman eventually declared that the department will continue reviewing evidence in this matter.

Prenatal tests are done for an important purpose – to ensure the safety of the fetus and to detect potential genetic disorders. Any sort of misuse of such methods should be banned in the best interest of the mother and the child.

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